Please help me with my 6th grade dd’s writing!!

[Kencam]

Hi!

 

     My 6th grade dd is a delightful student.  However, she struggles with writing.  We’ve used WWE in the past, and more recently, BJU.  Neither seems to be a good fit.  She’s a very literal thinker, so it’s extremely difficult for her to brainstorm ideas, organize her thoughts and write paragraphs.  She wants to be told exactly what to write and when to write it.  There is very little creativity on her part.  She doesn’t like writing and fusses every time she needs to write anything.  She doesn’t write for fun at all.  Her grammar skills, on the other hand, are great.  She doesn’t have any trouble in this area at all.  Her reading comprehension is fair.  Not exemplary, but not bad, either.  

 

     I’ve looked at bravewriter (May be a bit too loose for me with not enough help in instruction), EIW (would this help with her creativity and brainstorming, or would it be more like “do x,y,z?”), IEW (I’ve read its very formulaic), W&R (wondering if this would be a good fit) and writing strands (wondering if this would also be a good fit).  I’m so very overwhelmed and confused.  I keep changing my mind on what might work for her.  I really want for her to develop her own thinking, expound on her thoughts and write a cohesive paragraph (and essay).  Am I expecting too much for her age?  

     Right now we are working on just some journaling using different prompts and story starters.  For the first time, she’s actually smiled some while writing.  But I am not confident in my abilities to teach writing, and would like a curriculum to help her develop as a writer.  Does anyone have any suggestions for curriculum, and for me personally as her teacher?  I would love some advice!  Thank you!
 

Carrie

[Little Green Leaves]

3 hours ago, Kencam said:

Hi!

 

     My 6th grade dd is a delightful student.  However, she struggles with writing.  We’ve used WWE in the past, and more recently, BJU.  Neither seems to be a good fit.  She’s a very literal thinker, so it’s extremely difficult for her to brainstorm ideas, organize her thoughts and write paragraphs.  She wants to be told exactly what to write and when to write it.  There is very little creativity on her part.  She doesn’t like writing and fusses every time she needs to write anything.  She doesn’t write for fun at all.  Her grammar skills, on the other hand, are great.  She doesn’t have any trouble in this area at all.  Her reading comprehension is fair.  Not exemplary, but not bad, either.  

 

     I’ve looked at bravewriter (May be a bit too loose for me with not enough help in instruction), EIW (would this help with her creativity and brainstorming, or would it be more like “do x,y,z?”), IEW (I’ve read its very formulaic), W&R (wondering if this would be a good fit) and writing strands (wondering if this would also be a good fit).  I’m so very overwhelmed and confused.  I keep changing my mind on what might work for her.  I really want for her to develop her own thinking, expound on her thoughts and write a cohesive paragraph (and essay).  Am I expecting too much for her age?  

     Right now we are working on just some journaling using different prompts and story starters.  For the first time, she’s actually smiled some while writing.  But I am not confident in my abilities to teach writing, and would like a curriculum to help her develop as a writer.  Does anyone have any suggestions for curriculum, and for me personally as her teacher?  I would love some advice!  Thank you!
 

Carrie

I mostly have experience working with adults on this, so this might not help. But what I'd do is to start with conversation. Before you even write anything down, practice having conversations in which you:

-Describe an environment in detail 

-Debate an idea

-Make a request and explain why it's important

-Discuss the "main idea" in a variety of things that you've read together; discuss the kind of "evidence " that the writer used to support their main idea 

A lot of writing is about thinking and explaining. On some level, writing is about being able to break down our own beliefs and ideas so that they can be communicated to others. It takes a lot of practice to do this.  

 

[Kencam]

Thank you for these ideas!  What you said makes a lot of sense.  I will try doing these things this next week.  Thanks!
 

Carrie

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I'm reading through The Writing Revolution and really loving it.  If you search the board, you'll see some discussion of it.  

[Kencam]

Thanks so much for the help!  I will look into these things.

[EKS]

I recommend sitting with her while she writes.

Start by coming up with three prompts about things she is learning. 

Then sit with her and discuss each prompt as though it were a discussion question. 

Then have her pick one of the prompts to answer in writing.  Make sure the prompts are worth writing about.

Discuss the prompt she picks in more detail.  Take notes on every point she makes.  I used a small whiteboard for this.  Since you are engaging in a discussion, you will also be making points.  Write those down as well. 

Next, have her put the points that are written down in a logical order.  She may decide to leave some out.

Finally, sit with her as she writes.  Prompt her to use appropriate transitions.  Help her come up with an appropriate beginning and ending. 

I recommend an initial target length of a single paragraph (100 or so words).  

Do this with her a few times.  Then gradually remove the scaffold.  To do this, I'd start by having her write a draft (with appropriate transitions, beginning, and ending) on her own.  You will then go over what she's written and edit it with her.  Once she can do this fairly well, have her take notes on your targeted discussion of the chosen prompt.  After doing this several times, you can back off further, and only do the discussion of the three prompts.  Finally, you can eliminate the discussion of the three prompts.  However, don't ever stop discussing the material more generally.

[hippiemamato3]

I think Writing and Rhetoric might be a good one to look at.